Quest to Be The Best: Alola
by ATypicalNumber
Summary: Sun is a sixteen-year old trainer who is taking the island challenge and aims to be the Alola Champion. This is his story. And YES, there is romance.
1. Chapter 1

**AnAwesomeName: I mean, this is just another attempt of mine of making a story that is not terrible.**

 **?: The idea is terrible. I mean, what shippings are you going to have?**

 **AnAwesomeName: Ok, while I deal with our guest here, just enjoy the story. Oh, yeah, disclaimer about me not owning Pokemon and all that.**

It is said that all boy's leave home around the age of ten. Who said that? Red's Mom. But I'm sixteen. I've honestly held off of doing any Pokemon training because I thought the entire thing was pointless. Reminds you of the Plasma Situation of 2010, doesn't it? So, when I walked into that Professor's office this morning, imagine his shock. Oh, right, you don't know who I am. The name's Sun. Don't know where my parents came up with that one. I live in the Alola region, the region where "The sun always shines" according to travel brochures. I live on Akala Island, where stuff happens that has to do with Pokemon. But I decided to become a trainer to see how far I get without losing. My friends tell me that's something called a Nuzlocke challenge, but I call it the "See How Far I Get Without Losing Challenge". But here's how the story goes.

I walked up to the Kahuna's villa to talk about getting my starter. It was 11 a.m. As I opened the door, I spotted the Kahuna, whose name was Hala, giving a Popplio, the water starter, to a girl who looked like she was my age.

"Here you go, young one," Hala said heartily, "Make sure you take good care of her!"

"I promise I will!" the girl said before running out the door.

"Ah, Sun!" The lines that represented his eyes looked my way. "I was told you'd be coming."

"Good morning, Kahuna Hala. I'm just looking for-"

"A starter? That's the problem." Hala scratched his head nervously. "That Popplio was the last one."

My eyes widened as he finished his sentence. Now, the thing is, starters are extremely rare. We usually get them through breeding their fully evolved forms with a Ditto. But they're bred once every six months.

"So, what you're saying is...I have to wait half a year to get a starter." I said, trying to calm myself down.

"Well, not exactly. But you should've woken up on time! There's a story of this one boy who woke up late in Kanto on Starter Day, and he was stuck with a feisty Pikachu!"

I mentally tapped my foot as I was getting impatient. I hoped there was still another solution.

"But, here's what I'm going to do," Hala continued. "Take this. There's a Pokemon in here."

He handed me a PokeBall. I threw it open, and was greeted with a golden Growlithe who looked around confusedly. Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic at the thought of a shiny Pokemon being mine, but I still wanted to hear what Hala had to say.

"This Growlithe is yours. Scan it with this PokeDex to see its moves and stats!"

He handed me a PokeDex for which I immediately scanned it. It had an Adamant nature, and knew Growl, Ember, and Tackle.

"Its Adamant," I said, "Which is perfect due to Arcanine's high Attack stat."

Hala chuckled. "Looks like you know your stuff! Here are some PokeBalls and Potions..." He handed me five of each item.

"That's it! If you're doing the Island Trial challenge, head to the Trainer's School. Ask to talk to Ilima. He can help you out."

"Thank you." With that, I headed out and started toward Route 1.

"Hey!"

I turned around and saw the girl with the Popplio come towards me. Now that I got a closer look at her, she was FINE. She had eyes as purple as Suicune's mane, had her blonde hair in a ponytail and had a pink sleveless shirt that read '96' in green letters. Blue shorts that reached her knees completed the look. However, I kept my straight face.

"What starter did you choose?"

I laughed nervously. "I woke up late, so no starter for me. But I did get this."

I released my Growlithe, who yawned. She squealed and instantly knelt down to pet it.

"You're really lucky to get a shiny. There's a really REALLY low chance of finding one in the wild, much less getting one as a shiny."

Lucky me. "I was just heading out to Route 1 to get some training in, maybe catch a Pokemon or two. You heading that way?"

"Precisely. We can go together if you want." She didn't blush, indicating that this was just a casual walk. I nodded and we started approaching Route 1.

"What's your name?"

"My name's Leaf. How about you?"

"Sun. I would've thought that a girl named Leaf would have green hair."

"I used to be a brunette. But believe it or not, green is my least favorite color. It reminds me of a friend that I hated."

"Oh. Remind me not to call you Green, then."

She giggled as a smile appeared on my face. I encountered a Pikipek as she encountered a Rattata. When we finished our respective battles, she came up to me with a frown.

"Rattata look so ugly here. Where I'm from, they're-"

"Purple?"

"Exactly! I'm from Kanto."

"I had a feeling from your shirt."

"What?" a sly smile grew on her face, as she waited for me to explain.

"1996. The year Red won the Indigo League and became Champion of Kanto."

She wore an impressed look as we walked along Route 1.

"Also, Red, Blue, and Green are popular names in Kanto."

"You really do know your stuff!"

"Have you caught any Pokemon yet?"

"Just caught a Pikipek."

"Well, I caught an Eevee, if it's worth anything." Now, it was my turn to be surprised.

"If it's worth anything? Eevee has, like, seven evolutions!"

Leaf didn't respond.

"Is it male or female?"

"Female. I'm leaning toward an Espeon, since they look more feminine than the others. **(NOT TRYING TO BE SEXIST)**."

"My Pikipek's male."

We encountered a couple more Pokemon that gave us good experience and battled some trainers before reaching the Trainer's School.

"So, we're here."

"Yeah."

Leaf turned toward me with a grin on her face, and I instantly knew what she was about to ask.

"Do you wanna-"

"Battle? Sure."

We walked towards the battlefield in front of the school and I threw out Growlithe as Leaf threw out Popplio.

"This'll be a one-on-one battle! You know the rules!"

I nodded before yelling, "Growlithe, Tackle!"

Growlithe ran straight towards Popplio and charged into her with all his weight.

"Popplio, Water Gun!"

"Counter with Ember!"

The attacks collided and clouded the battlefield with steam. I smiled, devising a strategy.

"Growlithe, if you can smell Popplio, use Tackle!"

"Popplio, when you see Growlithe, use Water Gun!"

Growlithe closed his eyes and sniffed the air before charging into the steam. It was silent for a minute after that.

"Popplio, are you OK? Can you still hear me?"

As the smoke cleared, I saw that Popplio was on the ground with swirls in her eyes, signifying that she had fainted.

"POPPLIO!"

"Well done, Ace!" Yes, that's my nickname for Growlithe. I reached into my bag and handed him a Fire-type PokePuff. They're specially made from Kalos; they're said to be made by Serena, the Kalos Queen. Ace ate it up in a second before I started to scratch behind his ear and pet him. Leaf walked up to me.

"Wow, I don't know how, but you beat Popplio! Rest assured that's not going to happen again."

I shook her hand, wishing her a good game.

Leaf headed to the entrance and waved at me.

"I'm going shopping! And doing some training with Popplio. I hope you get stronger too!"

"See ya, Leaf! Good luck!"

"Well done!"

I looked to the side and saw a guy with, I kid you not, pink hair, a brown vest, and white khakis on.

"That was a fantastic battle! You must be Sun! I was told by Hala you were coming."

He walked up to me and looked at me.

"My name is Ilima. I'm the trial captain of Normal-types."

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: Well, that's chapter one!**

 **Sun: ...**

 **AnAwesomeName: Ok, then! See ya next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sun: Oh, boy, chapter 2.**

 **AnAwesomeName: You know you're excited. You want to spend more time with Leaf, don't you?**

 **Sun: SHUT UP! You don't own Pokemon, so you can't say anything!**

 **AnAwesomeName: But I do own this story!**

Ilima offered me his hand for a handshake to which I accepted.

"It's nice to meet you, Ilima. Kahuna Hala told me you could help me in getting started on my island challenge."

"He's right. There are three to four trials on each island. After you complete those trials, you can challenge the island kahuna."

I stayed silent. His smile grew wider.

"Come on, Sun. Loosen up! Battling is fun once you get the hang of it!'

I still didn't speak. He knelt down to Ace and pet him, resulting in a growl of satisfaction from the latter.

"I think your Growlithe is still ready to battle. Are you?"

I looked at Ace as he stared at me with his fluffy tail wagging in excitement. I smiled.

"Sure."

"Good. Meet me at Verdant Cave, and we'll begin the trial."

He then walked back inside the school. I pet Ace before returning him to my PokeBall. On my way to Route 2, I passed through the remainder of Hau'oli City. I walked alongside a beach were I could see Magmar and Vulpix (non-Alolan) sunbathing with their trainers. People were playing volleyball with Makuhita and Hariyama. Underneath the boardwalk, I could see Alolan Grimer and Muk sleeping. I had to wrinkle my nose a little bit; those things are disgusting. I passed by the local malasada shop, where I could see a young boy with orange shorts and a black shirt stuffing malasadas in his face with a boy in a striped orange shirt wearing jeans, despite the heat. I passed by the clothes shopping district and could see Leaf carrying a bag in the distance before she entered another store. I shook my head and smiled as I approached Route 2.

I stood in the tall grass before releasing Pikipek and Ace.

"All right, guys, we're going Pokemon hunting again. Are you ready to get some experience?"

They both smiled.

"All right, now we- _OOF!_ "

I was interuppted as I was tackled to the ground by a heavy Pokemon. I saw Ace growl and Pikipek take to the skies ready to attack.

"What the-" I turned around and came face to face with a Rockruff, who looked angry. I picked him up, to which he growled at me and tried to bite my hand. I quickly put him down, not because he was hostile, but because since he was a Rock-type, they weighed a lot.

"A Rockruff..." I scanned it with my PokeDex. "Hmm...an Impish nature, so you would be able to take physical attacks...ok, then. If you can-oh, wait."

I frowned as I realized that both of my Pokemon were weak to Rock. "Never mind. But this would be good experience."

As if on cue, Growlithe tackled Rockruff, scoring a critical hit. Rockruff retaliated with a Rock Tomb, which would've done a number of Ace if he hadn't dodged. At the same time, Pikipek tackled him as Ace landed an Ember, thus knocking it out. The two high-fived.

"Nice teamwork, you too, but League rules only say one at a time."

They rolled their eyes as I gave them PokePuffs and cleaned them off. But we kept looking as we approached Verdant Cavern.

On the way, we encountered a Meowth, Abra, and Drowzee. I added none of them to the team, but again, it was good experience for Ace and Pikipek. That reminds me, I still have to think of a nickname for Pikipek. Anyway, we were really close to Verdant Cavern.

"Ok, you two, we're close to Verdant Cave. I'm really proud of how you guys are battling so far; you guys haven't taken a single hit despite all of the enemies we've faced. But we're not done yet; we know that Ilima is a Normal-type trial captain, but even though we don't have any Fighting-types, we can still win. Pikipek-no, Peeko ( **Thanks to TyranitarTube for the nickname)**. That's your nickname. Anyway, you have a great speed stat due to your Hasty nature, so you can always hit first. Ace, you'll be attacking wall. Due to your high level, you can take more attacks and dish out stronger ones. Ready?"

Suddenly, the air got a little colder despite it being 85 degrees. Ace's ears flickered before he barked and ran off.

"Ace! What's wrong? Ace!"

Peeko and I followed him around the cave before I gasped. There were three Vullaby attacking an Alolan Vulpix, who was using Powder Snow in all directions in attempt to hit the Vullaby. The three Pokemon surrounded it and began pecking it with their jagged beaks. Vulpix whimpered in pain as the attacks landed.

"Hey, you three! Cut it out!" I yelled. The three Vullaby noticed me and charged towards me. "Ace, FLAMETHOWER!"

The three Vullaby screeched to a halt and ran the opposite direction as they tried to avoid the flames, but failed. The three were knocked out; Peeko and Ace got some more experience. I approached the Vulpix who whimpered at when I looked at it. It seemed that it was holding a berry in its mouth. This was all the evidence I needed. I frowned.

"Did you steal from those Vullaby?"

It looked down in shame. I sighed before placing it on my lap and brushing its fur.

"You know, it's not right to steal. They ran away pretty upset, so they're probably going to-"

Just then, I was interrupted by what I was about to mention. Mandibuzz appeared.

"Alert their mother," I finished. Vulpix hopped off my lap and hid behind Ace.

"Peeko, return. Ace, we got this. Use FLAMETHROWER!"

However, Flamethrower missed as Mandibuzz took to the skies and landed a Brave Bird on Ace, doing a massive amount of damage. However, Mandibuzz took some damage too. I growled before returning Ace. Mandibuzz flew over me and charged at the Vulpix who was running away.

"NO!"

However, just when it seemed that she got Vulpix (all Vullaby and Mandibuzz are female), Ace released itself from its PokeBall and landed Flamethrower! I was in awe; it staggered, as the Brave Bird did quite a lot of damage. Ace stood between the Mandibuzz as it landed in front of Ace, who stood in front of Vulpix. I walked over.

"Give me the berry...otherwise this isn't going to end well for either of us."

Vulpix whimpered as Mandibuzz shrieked in anger and took to the skies again, preparing another Brave Bird.

"QUICK! GIVE ME THE BERRY!" I commanded as Ace was about to be hit with yet ANOTHER Brave Bird. Vulpix spat out the berry and I leaped in front of Ace just before the Brave Bird landed, and presented Mandibuzz with the berry. Her eyes instantly softened as she took the berry and flew off. I sighed and groomed Ace and gave him three PokePuffs. What can I say? He deserved it after that performance. As I was doing this, Vulpix stared at Ace and I with curious eyes. I scanned it, and saw that it was a female. However, she had a Bashful nature, which affected her special attack neither positively nor negatively. She walked up to me and smiled at me, wagging her tail. Now, don't get me wrong; Vulpix in general are cute. But this Vulpix was straight-up adorable. I placed it in my lap next to Ace and began grooming her and fed her an Ice-type PokePuff to which she purred in enjoyment.

"Do you want to come with us, Vulpix? It looks like Ace wants you to." Vulpix looked at Ace, who wore a huge smile. She blushed before yipping in delight. I smiled before tapping her with my second PokeBall and adding her to the team.

"Her name is Winter. How about that, Ace?"

He tackled me and licked my face. With that, we went back to Verdant Cave and went inside.

 **AnAwesomeName: Well, that's chapter two! What do you think?**

 **Sun: No Leaf? :(**

 **AnAwesomeName: She'll be in chapter three or four, Sun, calm down. See you next time! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AnAwesomeName: Chapter 3!**

 **Sun: Is-**

 **Leaf: Hey, Sun! Are you here too?**

 **Sun: *turns pink***

 **AnAwesomeName: I'll see y'all at the end of the chapter. I don't own Pokemon.**

I walked into Verdant Cave and saw Ilima standing in front of a nearby rock.

"Welcome to Verdant Cave! Your-"

"Excuse me, but how did you get here before me? Verdant Cave is at least 35 minutes from the Trainer's School, and that's driving time." It's a legitimate question.

He smiled. "I'll tell you if you successfully complete your trial, which starts now. You must defeat three Yungoos, each a higher level than the previous one. Keep in mind, you are not allowed to catch any Pokemon in a trial site unless you've defeated the Totem Pokemon. Good luck!"

With that, he moved from in front of the rock, and before I knew it, a Yungoos was standing in front of me with a snarl on its face. I rolled my eyes and sent out Peeko, who was at least three levels higher than it.

"Peeko, use Peck!" It one-shotted, to which I smiled. Both Ace and Winter gained experience due to the experience share I got from some old dude. We jumped down another ledge and ran into another Yungoos, who was three levels higher than the previous one. In addition, it had a higher attack stat than Peeko, so I sent out Winter.

"Winter, use Powder Snow!" The attack was successful, but it lived and retaliated with Tackle, which was also successful. I thought I saw a tear in Winter's face, so I went to her.

"Would you like me to release Ace to watch you?" Just like that, the tear disappeared as she nodded. I released Ace, who sat at my side while we watched Winter. The latter's face was now very serious as she glared daggers at the Yungoos.

"Winter, Powder Snow!" She moved faster than I ever saw her. She jumped up and aimed a Powder Snow that landed a critical hit, thus knocking out the Yungoos. I didn't see him at the time, but Ilima had an impressed look on his face. Ace ran up to Winter with his tail wagging and barked in enjoyment. Winter's blush returned as she yipped in appreciation. Hey, what can I say? Winter's more comfortable around Ace! Anyway, after Pikipek took care of the final Yungoos, we stepped through the cave exit. There was a clear meadow and a statue in the center of it. I ran up to it and found a Z-Crystal (I received the Z-Ring right before I left Hala's house). As I reached for the crystal, I heard a loud roar. I smiled, knowing that the Totem Pokemon was approaching before instinctively releasing Ace. I turned around and saw a Gumshoos and Yungoos waiting for me. The former roared.

"Ace, I think you might need some motivation too." I released Winter, whose six snowy tails waved in excitement as a smile went across her face. Ace's fangs bared.

"Ace, use Flamethrower on the ground!"

As the ground we stood on got hotter, I put Winter on my shoulder so she wouldn't get burned. Yungoos was hopping around to lessen the pain of the heat. Gumshoos on the other hand, charged and landed a Bite on Ace, who howled in pain.

"Ace, hang in there! Use Flamethrower on Gumshoos now!"

Gumshoos was then hit with a point-blank Flamethrower, causing some damage to the Totem Pokemon, who let go and fell on the burning ground, doubling the damage.

"Well done, Ace! One more Flamethrower, and put your heart into it!"

Ace roared and shot a Flamethrower powerful enough to cover the entire meadow. Yungoos got knocked out, but Gumshoos dodged it and charged at him.

"Use Tackle on his back!"

Gumshoos' Tackle missed as Ace jumped over it and landed a Tackle square on his back, knocking it flat on its stomach, wincing in pain.

"Flamethrower!"

Flamethrower landed as Gumshoos tried to ease the pain. Gumshoos fainted. Winter yipped in joy as I picked up Ace and hugged him.

"Fantastic job, Ace. I'm very proud of you." I put him on my other shoulder and took the Normal-type Z-Crystal before heading over to the entrance of the cave.

* * *

Ilima shook my hand once more. "Congratulations on completing the trial! You are now free to catch any Pokemon you please in Verdant Cave. Also, take this! It's a Ride Pager; you can contact Tauros to get you to places quicker!"

"Thank you!"

"If you're serious about this Island Challenge, head to Brooklet Hill for your trial against Lana, the Water-type trial captain."

"Ilima!"

I turned around, and there was Leaf running towards us.

"Ah, yes, you must be Leaf! Hala told me about you as well! Come in the cave when you're ready to start your trial."

Ilima walked back inside the cave. Leaf faced me.

"So, you finished the trial?"

"That's right!" I showed her my Z-Crystal, to which she covered her eyes.

"Don't show me! I don't want to know what kind of trial it is!"

I put my crystal away, to which she uncovered her eyes. "Anyway, Popplio and I have gotten stronger! And I've added another member to the team!"

"I look forward to battling-"

"LOOK OUT SCUSE ME COMING THROUGH- _OOF!_ "

"OW!"

I was sent to the ground as I collided with the boy from the malasada shop. The one with the orange-striped shirt and jeans. He was also wearing a green shirt that had the picture of a diamond on its end. While I was rubbing my head, the boy was already up and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Sorry for running into you, but you should've moved out of the way when you saw me coming!"

Leaf helped me up as we both glared at the boy. "Who are you?"

"Me? You don't know me?"

"Thus the reason he asked who you are..." I looked at Leaf in shock; there was a smart aleck in her after all!

"In due time, in due time. But do you know where the second trial is? I already emerged victorious from this one."

"It's at Brooklet Hill-"

"Thanks! If you're an Island Challenger, then it's nice to meet you! What're your names?"

"I'm Sun, and she's Leaf-" He shook both of our hands rapidly, making both of our eyes rattle in their sockets.

"I'm Barry! My goal is to be the champion of the Alola League. I wasn't so lucky back home...even though my neighbor left at the same time as me, she became champion first."

"Wait, where are you from?" Leaf asked.

"I'm from Sinnoh."

"You're friends with Dawn?! That's incredible!"

"Thanks! But I didn't mean to interrupt your challenge. Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Leaf then ran into Verdant Cave.

"Why aren't you going in?"

I showed Barry my Z-Crystal. "Already beat it."

"Impressive! Then why don't we have a battle?"

"Actually, I was about to go do the second trial. We can battle after that if you want-"

"Deal! If I beat the trial before you, I'm fining you a million PokeDollars, so you'd better hope you get there first!"

I chuckled a bit as he raced off. I released Winter, Ace, and Peeko from their PokeBalls. They were all looking pretty tired.

"You all worked hard. We're going to rest at the next Pokemon Center." At that, we set off along Route 2. I trudged through the grass, looking for Pokemon who can cover the massive Rock-type weakness my team had. The Grass was full of Fighting-types, which was good, but I was looking for a Grass-type, but all I found were Cottonee, which had a 4x weakness to Poison. Until, finally, I found it. A Stufful. Now, I know I said Grass-types, but Stufful were not only adorable, but they evolved into Bewear who were scary strong AND with a massive HP stat. It was sitting under a tree, trying to reach its back. I knelt down to it.

"You alright, little guy?"

It whimpered in pain. I looked on its back and saw a large gash. Likely made from a Flying-type. Now, that MUST'VE hurt; Stufful is Normal-Fighting, and since it's defenses were frail, it would do a number on Stufful here. I reached for a nearby Pecha Berry and rubbed the juices on its back. It winced in pain, but I pet it as I rubbed the wound, causing its whines to turn into groans of relief. After putting it down, the wound had turned into a scab.

"There ya go!"

It cried in happiness and jumped on me. It was so fluffy, I couldn't resist hugging it! You would too if you saw it. I tapped it with a PokeBall, and there was our Rock-type resistance.

As promised, I healed up the team and fed them dinner before turning in for the night at the nearest PokeCenter.

* * *

The next day, I approached Brooklet Hill. A girl with blue hair ran up to me.

"Excuse me, do you think you can help me with something?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"There have been some strange occurrences happening in my pond, and its interfering with my fishing. Can you help me out?"

I nodded, making a mental note to not use Ace. I followed her down the hill towards the pond.

"Do you know where the trial site is? I'm looking for Lana."

She turned around and gasped. "I really need to put trial posts at the top of the hill. This is the trial site, so you just started your trial. I'm Lana!"

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: Chapter 3, done!**

 **Leaf: That wasn't bad! I'm coming for you, Sun!**

 **Sun; *scoffs and rolls eyes***

 **Barry: You'd better beat her, Sun! There's a large fine waiting for you if you don't!**

 **AnAwesomeName: Break it up, you three! See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AnAwesomeName: Welcome back! Thanks to everyone who's been reading so far; your support is truly appreciated.**

 **Leaf: I still have my secret Pokemon that are ready to battle against you, Sun! I highly doubt you'll win this time.**

 **Sun: *rolls eyes again***

 **AnAwesomeName: Ok, time to serve as fight monitor again. See y'all at the end! :)**

* * *

I looked at Lana as she turned pink and put her hand behind her head before chuckling nervously.

"I swear, I forgot that this was a trial site. But I am having problems with my pond...I wasn't trying to trick you into anything-"

I put my hand up before she continued. "Don't worry about it, I was looking for you anyway. Plus, the sooner I help, the sooner I can beat your trial. Now, what's the-"

"OUTTA MY WAY, 'SCUSE ME, COMING THROUGH!"

I instinctively moved two steps to the right and pulled Lana with me as Barry tried to screech to a halt, but instead landed in the lake. I offered my hand.

"Barry, you've gotta chill. This trial isn't going anywhere."

"Wrong!" Barry took my hand and got out of the lake and, I kid you not, shook himself dry. "You're going somewhere if you win! Before me, that is. And that's towards the next trial."

"I take it you're a challenger, too?" Lana asked. Barry nodded.

"That's right. You know, you really need to put trial posts at the top of the hill; it's kind of confusing to those who legitimately came by to catch Pokemon."

Lana again blushed in shame.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but how old are you?" Barry asked.

"I turned sixteen in January."

"That's how old I am. Leaf, too!" I said. Lana turned pale at the mention of Leaf.

"Is this Leaf a trial-goer?"

"Yes...why?" Barry asked.

"I need to find a Grass-type counter. But, anyway, if Ilima gave you a Ride Pager, let me see it." Barry and I both gave her our Ride Pagers that currently had only Tauros on it. Twelve seconds later she handed them back.

"I put a Lapras caller on that. Click the button to call her when you need to cross over a body of water."

I clicked the button, and out of nowhere, a Lapras was staring me in the face with a welcoming smile. I climbed onto her back and listened for anything else I need to know.

"Look for ripples in the water. The Pokemon that cause it is usually the source of my problems." Lana waved and Barry gave me a thumbs up.

With that, I released Stufful to sit in my lap and Peeko to scope out the area for ripples in the water. We sailed around the lake looking for ripples until Stufful's cute cry alerted me to look in the distance, and there was a ripple. However, the second I saw it, it dissolved quickly and a new ripple formed on a lower level of the lake.

"The ripple moved to a different part of the lake!" I called. I returned to shore and ran to the lower part of the lake to catch up to the ripple. Again, it went to a lower part of the lake. Again, I returned to the shore and went to the lowest part of the lake, and this time, when I approached the ripple, it got larger and larger.

"Uh...Lana...? You might wanna see this!"

Lana and Barry raced down and saw the ripple that was now the size of Lapras' stomach. Both of their eyes widened. Mine widened when I saw what came out. Lapras was face to face with a Totem Wishiwashi. In its school form. Now, you may not know this, but Wishiwashi's default ability is called Schooling. When its HP is greater than half, multiple Wishiwashi joins it to create a super-mega Wishiwashi that even strike fear into the hearts of Gyarados. And to make things worse, these things are tanks.

"All right. Peeko, use Bullet Seed!" Yes, Peeko knew that. In addition, since Skill Link was its ability, it hit all five times, taking out about a quarter of Wishiwashi's health. However, when it landed an Ice Beam, almost taking out Peeko, I turned pale.

"Peeko, way to hang in there! Fly up and use Bullet Seed!"

The Bullet Seeds once again landed, and that brought Wishiwashi down to half. We just needed one more successful hit to deactivate schooling. Wishiwashi roared and jumped, yes, you heard me right, JUMPED out of the water and trapped Peeko in those fishy jaws.

"PEEKO! GET OUT OF THERE!"

They landed back in the water, and disappeared under it.

"PEEKO, STAY WITH ME! USE PECK!"

Nothing.

"PEEKO!"

I didn't want my challenge to end this early. However, what happened next blew my mind. Peeko flew out of the water, but this time as a Trumbeak! A tear appeared in my face as Trumbeak flew in front of my face. I looked in the water, and Wishiwashi didn't come out. We won!

"Peeko, I'm so proud of you!" I gave it three Flying-type PokePuffs made from a Unova Pokemon Connisseur and dried it off. He took the finest of Ws today.

* * *

Back on shore, Lana handed me the Waterium Z.

"That was a fantastic performance by your Trumbeak. You deserve this Z-Crystal."

"Thank you!"

Barry stamped his feet in anger. "NO NO NO NO NOOO! I wanted to be the first to win!"

A triumphant smile appeared on my face.

"No matter. Let's have a 1-on-1 battle anyway! GO, TORRACAT!"

"Fine. GO, STUFFUL!"

Stufful smiled cutely at the Torracat, turning its look of determination into a look of confusion.

"FLAMETHROWER, TORRACAT!"

My eyes widened; Stufful's ability was Fluffy, which meant it would take massive damage from any and all Fire-type moves.

"Let's finish this in one go! Stufful, use Earthquake!"

Stufful flailed its little arms and slammed them on the ground to produce an Earthquake, that one-shotted the Torracat. The reason? Crit-power. Barry was in utter shock; he didn't move.

"Wh-what just happened?"

"I'll tell you what just happened, this little guy used its Brave nature to get a crit Earthquake!" I gave it a hug, to which he squealed in joy.

"I think I know what I'll name you: Tadeki," I said while Stufful now had a look of confusion on his face, "You'll get used to it, don't worry."

"No offense, but I don't think you should use that Stufful on your next trial; the next one's a Fire-trial at the top of Wela Volcano Park. If you want, you can spend a little more time here and catch a Water-type Pokemon."

"No thanks. I don't wanna interrupt Barry's trial."

"Gee, thanks, Sun! Although be warned. If I beat you, you'll owe me a fine of a million PokeDollars, so be on the top of your game!"

"You know what, Lana? I think I'll take you up on that offer of letting me catch a Water Pokemon."

* * *

 **(These parts will be told in a third-person point of view)**

Back at the Pokemon Center, Sun was eating dinner inside the Pokemon Center with Ace, Tadeki, Winter, and Peeko.

"Great job today, Peeko. I honestly wish I could've seen it live," Ace said. Peeko smiled with pride.

"Wishiwashi's school form was no joke, to be honest. Also, it's better that you didn't see. Water was flying everywhere." Peeko nonchalantly responded.

Tadeki yawned, to which Sun returned it. Winter shyly went up to Ace.

"Winter, what's on your mind?" Ace asked.

"What level are you, Ace?" the Vulpix asked. Ace thought back to the last time Sun scanned him.

"I think I'm about level 30. You should be level 26 while Tadeki is level 23 and Peeko is level 25. Our new friend is level 29."

"Oh...then why haven't you evolved yet?"

Ace winked at her. "I'm waiting for the right time."

She looked at him with soft sky-blue eyes. Ace could tell she was worried about something.

"Tell you what, when you evolve, I'll evolve."

Her eyes widened. "Ace, no! Don't let yourself getting stronger depend on me!"

Ace still wore a smile. "I insist. Since you use a stone to evolve, when you evolve depends on when we find an Ice Stone and when you choose to use it."

Winter blushed. "That's really sweet of you, Ace. Thank you."

"All right, guys, bedtime! Tomorrow, we head to Wela Volcano park!"

At that, Peeko, Ace, and Winter were returned to their PokeBalls.

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: That's a wrap for chapter 4, folks!**

 **Sun: Don't call us folks. This isn't the 1980s.**

 **Leaf: How are you on trial three already?!**

 **Sun: Maybe you just need to get good.**

 **AnAwesomeName: OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH! Anyway, I'll see you all next time! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AnAwesomeName: Chapter 5 has arrived! Luckily, Leaf and Sun aren't here to start an argument; it gets pretty chaotic when they do. Plus, they're out training anyway. See y'all at the end!**

* * *

I trudged along Route 5 (yes, we were that far), battling every trainer and almost every Pokemon we could find. Tadeki was getting extremely strong; despite his weak defenses, he hung on with at LEAST 5 HP left. I'm still proud of his efforts. With the help of Ace, Winter was coming out of her shell and could take down foes no matter how large or how much she's at a disadvantage. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating with that last part, but still. She was our special attacker. Peeko was getting faster and faster and hit harder and harder. I could only imagine how much of a powerhouse he'll be when he evolves into Toucannon. Finally, Ace was my strongest. I still need to find a Fire Stone and Ice Stone so I could evolve Ace and Winter. But, back to Ace. He took hits and hit back much harder. Almost every battle we got into ended the second Ace landed a move. I extremely proud with all of them. I approached the entrance of Paniola Town and was instantly in awe. It looked almost EXACTLY like those old western towns in black and white movies; there was still a modern spin on it, though. I could see a Miltank right in front of an evolution stone shop, there was an herb shop across from the Pokemon Center, a windmill overlooking the town, and a town selling authentic western food! Though, if you put it into literal terms, western food probably meant Kalosian food, which were ranked number two on the world food list, losing only to Unova's many tastes.

I walked into the stone shop to like for the aforementioned stones. Believe it or not, they were selling them, but they were selling them at 15,000 PokeDollars a pop. Luckily, I had gained so much money beating trainers that it really wasn't an issue.

"I'll surprise them," I said to myself, "When we beat Kiawe's trial, I'll give these to them."

Walking beyond Paniola Town, I passed by the Day Care and saw Tauros and Miltank getting along. There was a pair of Sudowoodo blocking a path to another route, but when I looked their way, they scurried off. Anyway, on to Route 7; Route 6 was just more trainers and a shopping district like Mauville was before it became a mall.

I reached the gates of Wela Volcano Park and was met by this dude who overtanned. His hair was in the shape of a flame and he was wearing red swimming trunks.

"I trust you're Sun?"

"That's right. And you're Kiawe."

He smiled. "Guilty as charged. Are you ready for your trial?"

"Bring it."

His smile grew wider. "I like your confidence. Let's get started. My Marowak are going to perform three dances for you. Each dance is going to be shown twice. You have to spot the difference between the first dance and the repeated dance. Ready?"

I nodded.

"Go, Marowak!" Three Alolan Marowak appeared with flaming bones that burned brightly. "Dance!"

The first dance was a strange one. They simply spun around and finished in a pose. The second time around, I noticed that the middle one was off. I spoke up.

"The middle one is in a different pose!"

Kiawe nodded. "Correct! Marowak, attack!"

The Marowak that was out of place glared at me and got into its battle stance. I already had Tadeki out to handle this situation.

"Fire Blast, Marowak!"

"Earthquake."

Tadeki barely ducked under the Fire Blast, but one Earthquake knocked out the Marowak. The Pokemon then got back into position and started the second dance. They finished the same way as the first one, but in the repeated dance, a Flareon was in the mix.

"Uhh...what's a Flareon doing there?"

"That's the difference! Flareon, attack!"

I used Ace for this one. Since he had Flash Fire, he would absorb any and all fire attacks to make his special attacks stronger. In other words, the Flamethrower, Flame Burst, and Ember that Flareon produced did absolutely nothing. So, when I used Crunch on Flareon, it one-shotted. My team was on fire, and that wasn't because we were doing a Fire trial. Kiawe had a frustrated look on his face when the third dance began. It was the same as the first one, but the second time, there was a SALAZZLE in the mix! Kiawe noticed my expression.

"You've spotted the Totem Pokemon. This is your final test. Salazzle, attack!"

Tadeki was in once more. I was kind of disappointed. Salazzle was 4x weak to Ground since it was a Poison-Fire type. However, since Salazzle was faster, it was able to land a Flamethrower, taking out my Stufful. My eyes widened the second Tadeki fainted.

"OK, now this is getting serious. Ace, take care of it!"

Ace growled. This time, Salazzle used Poison Jab, not only taking advantage of a Growlithe's defenses but also poisoning him in the process.

"Well done, Salazzle!" Kiawe cheered. I gritted my teeth. Ace was still in the game.

"Way to hang in there! Now, use Crunch!"

The attack was successful, but it didn't do enough to knock it out. Imagine my shock when Salazzle used Venoshock, a move that did double the damage if the target is poisoned.

"Ace, dodge, quick!" He jumped, but still got hit with one of the shocks. However, Ace was still in the game. I noticed that he was beginning to wobble.

"Stay with me, Ace! Use Crunch on Salazzle's tail!"

Ace shook himself to attention and jumped over Salazzle to produce a painful Crunch attack on the Poison-Fire type's tail. She, yes, she (all Salazzle are female) screamed in pain and tried to shake him off, but to no avail.

"SALAZZLE, SHAKE HIM OFF!" Kiawe screamed.

"Now, finish her off with a Take Down!" I yelled.

Ace threw Salazzle in the air before landing a Take Down attack finishing off the Totem Pokemon. I rushed over to Ace and gave him a huge hug; that was an amazing battle. Kiawe came over and handed me two things: a Lum Berry and a Firium Z. I gladly accepted both.

"Let's get you to the Pokemon Center." I said.

* * *

After Ace and Tadeki were healed, I returned Tadeki and released Winter. She squealed in joy him the second she saw him.

"I have something for you two."

Just like that, their eyes were on me. I held in my left hand an Ice Stone and in my right a Fire Stone. They simply stared at them.

"If you guys want, you can evolve right now. If you don't it's all right. Let me know when you want to."

Ace looked at Winter with a smile. She reluctantly touched the Ice Stone and Ace touched the Fire Stone. With a bright flashing light and many sparkles in between, Winter turned into a stunning Alolan Ninetales and Ace turned into a yellow Arcanine.

"I'm so proud of you two..."

* * *

Sun went over to make himself a plate of dinner leaving Ace and Winter by themselves.

"You look beautiful..." Ace said, in awe. Winter blushed.

"You look really strong. Especially with that golden color of yours..."

Ace smiled and Winter returned it. "And handsome..." Winter muttered as they walked to their trainer.

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...**

 **Sun: ...**

 **Leaf: ...**

 **AnAwesomeName: ...**

 **Sun: ...**

 **Leaf: ..**

 **AnAwesomeName: How are you today?**

 ***Sun and Leaf still say nothing***

 **AnAwesomeName: Uhh...well, when you two are ready to talk, I'll be here. In the meantime, stay tuned for chapter 6! See ya'll soon! :)**


	6. Brief Update

**Hey guys, AnAwesomeName here. I'm just writing to tell you that I'm taking a little break from the story due to writers block (again) and other stuff. However, let me know what you think of the story so far and what you hope to see from it in the future! Do you like it? Hate it? Don't like or hate it? Let me know! I'll see y'all (hopefully) soon for chapter 6!**

 **-AnAwesomeName :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**AnAwesomeName: Thanks to the readers for not only being patient during my absence, but for reading the story to begin with.**

 **Sun: You guys are the real MVPs.**

 **Leaf: That's the truth!**

 **AnAwesomeName: On to chapter 6. I don't own Pokemon and all that.**

* * *

I checked my PokeDex.

"According to this, the next trial is at the Lush Jungle," I said to myself before heading there. It had been such an eventful two days. Not only did I successfully complete the first two trials, but Peeko, Winter, and Ace evolved into Trumbeak, Ninetales, and Arcanine. Tadeki was still working on evolving into Bewear, but he was making significant progress. I had a mystery Pokemon that-ah, what the hey. I'll tell you what it is. I found a Pokemon that I caught on my way to the Pokemon Center from Wela Volcano Park. What Pokemon was it? It was an Eevee. A female one, if you want to be specific. She was, like Winter in trouble with some Pokemon, but she didn't steal from them. I encountered her in the middle of a chase with a Poochyena and Houndour. Luckily, Tadeki was there to get the job done. I groomed her and the rest was history. I intend on evolving her into an Espeon, which was the reason she battled every single Pokemon we came across. Her name? I settled on the name Lilly. I honestly don't know why, but she seemed to have a thing for flowers. So that's three males and two females on the team. I still need to find one more Pokemon to get a full team.

Anyway, as I walked along Route 5 and passed the local Aether Foundation building, I heard a voice.

"Excuse me, young man!"

I turned around, and there was this dude who looked like he was the head of the computer club at my high school. There was some ring around his hair, he was wearing blue glasses with golden eyes, a long gray lab coat with black pants, and he was typing something on his glove device.

"What's up?"

"Hmm...yes...you look like you're quite capable. And also confident. You see, my name is Colress. I'm studying how the bond between Pokemon and trainer affects their performance in battle."

"Well, I'm Sun. It's nice to meet you."

He laughed. "Such a polite young man, too! I'm glad to have met you, Sun. Take this as a token of our meeting."

He gave me the TM for Flame Charge before walking away. I literally took one step down the Route before I heard another voice.

"Sun!"

A small smile found its way on my face as I turned around to see Leaf running towards me. I never noticed how hot she looked when her hair was down, like now.

"Hey, Leaf! I take it you completed Ilima's trial successfully?"

A proud smile grew across her face. "That's right! Lana's too!"

"That was awfully quick...but Kiawe's trial is that way!" I pointed to the beginning of Route 5. She nodded.

"I know. Barry told me you were on your way to Lush Jungle, so I caught up to ask you something."

I had a feeling about what it was, so I put Tadeki's PokeBall in my hands.

"I wanna battle you! I want to make sure I'm ready for Kiawe's trial!"

I smiled. "That's reasonable, but you have a Water-type on your team!"

"That's not all! Let me show you what I mean. GO, DROWZEE!"

The tapir Pokemon wore a dopey smile on his face as he landed on the road. Honestly, we were lucky that cars didn't come on this road anymore.

"GO, TADEKI!"

Stufful stretched and glared at his opponent. Leaf squealed. "AAHHH! A STUFFUL! HE'S SO CUTE!"

"Ladies first."

She blushed. "What a gentleman. Drowzee, Confusion!"

"Dodge."

Tadeki barely dodged the attack by moving on those fluffy arms and legs.

"Brutal Swing. And anticipate the dodge!"

Leaf paled. "Dodge!"

Drowzee moved out of the way, but Tadeki read it like a book. The Brutal Swing landed, and Drowzee fainted.

Leaf groaned as I took the opportunity to brush Tadeki's fur.

"Ok, fine. Go, Charjabug!"

"Do you still want to battle, Tadeki?"

He nodded in affirmation and faced the Charjabug.

"Charjabug, Acrobatics!"

"Earthquake."

I mean, seriously? Have you seen Charjabug's speed stat? Earthquake hit first and Charjabug was squashed like a, well, Charjabug. Leaf's eye twitched as she took a deep breath.

"Ok. Ok, ok, ok. Go, Brionne!"

"Tadeki, I'm very proud of you. Take a good rest. Go, Lilly!"

Lilly's tail wagged in excitement as she smiled at the Brionne. Leaf smiled.

"WE SHOULD OBLITERATE THIS THING! WATER PULSE!"

"Sand Attack."

Lilly took the Water Pulse like a champ and kicked dust in Brionne's eyes.

"Water Pulse again!"

Brionne shot out a Water Pulse, but due to Sand Attack, she missed. Oh yeah, we're using pro strats.

"Use Curse, Lilly!" Oh, it was about to go down. This was usually the part in dubstep where the beat builds up before it drops. Leaf's eyes were full of fury.

"WATER PULSE!"

Missed.

"Now, Lilly, Bite!"

The attack connected, almost knocking out Brionne.

"Water Pulse, please, Brionne!" Leaf pleaded.

Miss again.

"Bite."

Success. Brionne fell, knocking out Leaf's third Pokemon.

"I'm out of Pokemon. You win." Leaf grumbled as she lowered her head in disappointment. I walked up to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Don't take it too seriously. You're getting stronger every battle."

Leaf didn't respond. I stuck out my hand for a handshake, to which she reluctantly accepted. She looked up at me with her cute little smile.

"Thank you. I've gotta get going. Good luck on your trial!"

I waved as she ran back to the entrance of Wela Volcano Park.

* * *

I approached the entrance of Lush Jungle. I had a feeling that this was a Grass-type trial, so I put Ace in front. I entered the jungle and saw a girl feeding a Fomantis a berry.

"Excuse me, are you Mallow?"

She turned around and I was met with a huge grin.

"That's right! I take it you're Sun?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Well, then! Let's get cooking! You need to find me a Mago Berry, Miracle Seed, and Tiny Mushroom. We're gonna cook up a storm with those three items!"

I didn't hesitate to start searching. Thanks to Ace's fantastic sense of smell, I was able to find the items relatively quickly. But not before battling some wild Pokemon. I was able to level up my entire team thanks to the Pokemon in that jungle.

I ran back to Mallow who was placing down a mat and bowl on the ground.

"Wow, you're done already?"

I nodded before handing her the three items.

"Impressive, now, we just need-"

"We're here, Mallow!" I spun around and saw Kiawe and Lana walking towards us.

"Hey, Sun! How ya doing?" Kiawe asked me. I smiled.

"Just dandy. What are you two doing here?"

Lana chuckled. "Mallow called us here. Mallow, I have that Fresh Water you asked for!"

"I have the Thick Club you requested," Kiawe said.

"Thanks! Now, we just put the ingredients in the bowl, and..." she handed me the Thick Club. "I need you to mash the ingredients with that bone until it turns into goo!"

My arms got quite the workout as I smashed the ingredients in the bowl continuously before the ingredients were replaced with a thick, green goo. I gave it to Mallow.

"That's just fantastic! We're gonna use this to attract the Totem Pokemon!" She held the bowl up over her head. I heard rustling in the bushes before hearing a shrill cry.

"Here it comes!" Mallow said excitedly. A Lurantis walked out of the grove and approached us. It cried again.

"Lurantis, are you ready to battle?" Mallow asked. Lurantis looked at me before growling and sharpening its pincer-like hands.

"I take that as a yes," I said, "GO, ACE!"

Mallow, Lana, and Kiawe gasped when Ace appeared before them. I pet his golden fur, resulting from a growl of happiness and his soft tail wagging.

"Are you ready, Ace?"

He roared as a positive.

"Lurantis, Solar Blade!"

Despite Solar Blade being a two-turn move, Lurantis had a White Herb on it, making it fully charged instantly.

"Take it!"

The Solar Blade hit Ace, but he simply blinked and yawned. Mallow's eyes widened.

"You know what to anticipate, Ace. Flamethrower!"

The Flamethrower successfully hit, almost knocking out Lurantis.

"Way to hang in there, Lurantis! Use Synthesis!"

Then, just like that, Lurantis was almost back to full HP. I rolled my eyes.

"We're not playing this game, Mallow. Ace, use Flamethrower on the ground!"

The ground became scorching hot as Ace used Flamethrower, warming up the entire forest. The Lurantis started to hop around in pain.

"Lurantis, Petal Blizzard!"

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!"

Petal Blizzard? Missed. Flamethrower WITH the burn the Lurantis got from the ground? One-shot. The ground cooled off as Mallow came rushing to Lurantis' side with the goo I created.

"Lurantis...you fought hard. Here's your reward."

The Pokemon eagerly took the bowl and drank all of the liquid. It soon had a smile on its face and cried in happiness. Mallow turned to me.

"I'm very impressed. Most trial-goers have a really hard time with Lurantis. But you got it on your first try!"

Kiawe and Lana approahced.

"He took out the Salazzle I had spent months training..." Kiawe said.

"He even beat the Wishiwashi I had bred by hand!" Lana said.

"Here's your Z-Crystal. It's the Grassium Z." She handed me the Z-Crystal, to which I accepted.

"You can now challenge the Grand Kahuna. Good luck on the other islands!"

"Thank you all!"

I ran out of the jungle and headed back to Iki Town.

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: Thanks for reading. I do have a request though. Who would be a good ship for Espeon?**

 **Leaf: Umbreon?**

 **Sun: Too generic.**

 **AnAwesomeName: What do you guys think? I honestly don't know. But either way, see you next time!**


	8. Chapter 7

**AnAwesomeName: WE'VE REACHED ALMOST 1,000 VIEWS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH; I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ENJOYING THE STORY! No pre-story dialog between characters. I don't own Pokemon, now on to chapter 7!**

* * *

The trek back to Iki Town was a long one. Believe it or not, I didn't use Tauros or Charizard to go back. Why? Training purposes. You may be looking at me like this was one of the stupidest decisions I've ever made, but come on. If you've ever been a Pokemon Trainer, you'd want to level up your team as much as you can so any gym or trial would be a walk in the park. But, here's how the training went. With every Pokemon I encountered, the team got stronger. In fact, so much so that Tadeki evolved! That's right, cute little Tadeki evolved into the most intimidating creature on Alola. No, he didn't evolve into Ursaring. He evolved into Bewear. He still had Fluffy, which boosted its physical defenses even more than they already were. Unfortunately, his special defenses were terrible. Lilly was getting much stronger despite her soft demeanor. Ace, Winter, and Peeko were growing at an incredible clip too! As I groomed each of them and fed them PokePuffs, they did much better in battle. I bet Colress would be delighted to hear that. Anyway, after an extremely long walk back along the five routes I had already traveled, I finally reached Iki Town. I went inside Hala's hut.

"Kahuna Hala?"

There he was, fast asleep on his chair in the back of the room. He snored as loud as a Snorlax right after eating.

"Kahuna Hala?" I said a little louder.

Nothing.

"KAHUNA HALA!"

That got his attention! He woke up with a start and saw me. A smile appeared on his face.

"Ah, Sun! Welcome back! Do you need anything?"

"Well, I completed the island's trials, so I'm here to challenge you to a battle."

The smile disappeared. "Well done! Let's get right to it, then!"

* * *

Outside, we both stood on the platform in the middle of town. He stamped his foot on it.

"All right! I'm not holding anything back in this battle! GO, MAKUHITA!"

"OK, then! Go, Ninetales!"

Ninetales stretched and glared at her opponent.

"Makuhita, Karate Chop!"

"Dodge and use Dazzling Gleam!"

Karate Chop missed and the Dazzling Gleam landed, taking care of Makuhita. Hala chuckled. "Well done! Go, Mankey!"

Mankey appeared and became enraged the second he saw Ninetales.

"Mankey, Fire Punch!"

I said nothing as Ninetales instinctively moved out of the way and retaliated with Dazzling Gleam, taking out Mankey. Now Hala was evidently frustrated.

"GO, POLIWHIRL!"

I switched out Ninetales and brought out Peeko.

"Poliwhirl, Ice Beam!"

Peeko took to the skies to avoid the Ice Beam.

"Bullet Seed."

The Bullet Seed landed all five times, taking out Poliwhirl. Hala growled in frustration before a smile replaced it. "Wow, that was quick. You're a really good trainer! Take this!"

He handed me the Fightinium Z. "Thank you, Kahuna Hala!"

"No problem. You earned it. The next trial is on Ula'Ula Island. Go to Hokulani Observatory and ask to speak to Sophocles."

I chuckled at the name and nodded before departing Iki Town.

* * *

The second I left Iki Town, guess who I ran into?

"Wow, Sun, you beat Hala already?"

"Yeah, Barry. Just bring some Pokemon that beat Fighting-types and you'll win easily."

Barry put his hands on his hips. "Well, I request a rematch with you. Right here, right now!"

"Sure!"

"This'll be a 2-on-2 battle. My first Pokemon is Torracat!"

"Go, Bewear!"

Barry smiled. "Fire Fang!"

"Bewear, dodge!"

However, the attack actually landed! Bewear fainted due to Fluffy. Barry's smile grew even wider.

"Who's your last Pokemon?"

My eye twitched at Barry's cocky attitude. "GO, PEEKO!"

This was a problem. Bewear was my Rock and Fire weakness since it knew Earthquake.

"Peeko, Acrobatics!"

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!"

Acrobatics landed, but so did Flamethrower. "One more Acrobatics!"

Acrobatics was a success, getting rid of Torracat.

"Go, Raichu!"

It would've been great to have Bewear right now. Plus, I couldn't switch out since this was the last Pokemon I could use.

"PEEKO, USE ACROBATICS!"

"THUNDERBOLT!"

Acrobatics missed this time, but Thunderbolt knocked out Peeko. I lost for the first time. Barry's cocky smile was still present.

"Good game, Sun! But I don't intend on losing to you like last time anymore."

I stayed silent as he shook my hand. I couldn't blame this on my Pokemon. I was proud of them. But there were some changes that had to be made. And my team wasn't going to like it one bit.

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: Ooohh...a cliffhanger. If you've played Pokemon, you know what he's about to do. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!**


	9. Chapter 8

**AnAwesomeName: ...**

* * *

I gathered the team in my room after pondering the decision for an hour, as well as spending some time alone with only Ace. When I mean only Ace, I meant he was the only member on my team. I caught some Pokemon and trained them up to necessary levels for them to either evolve or be on par with everyone's current level right now. Peeko, Tadeki, Ace, Winter, and Lillie, who had recently evolved into Espeon, stared at me. I sighed.

"Some of you are getting sent to the Professor's lab. I'm telling you the truth, if this problem weren't that large, I wouldn't do this at all."

They had the reactions I had expected. Winter's and Lilly's eyes widened, Ace bared his fangs for some reason, Peeko jumped while Tadeki looked around confused. Now, the hardest part of the job: telling them who was getting cut.

"Tadeki, you're out. Thank you so much for your help."

I picked him up and gave him one last hug before placing him in the PC. Four members left.

"Peeko...I'm sorry..."

He nodded in understanding before I returned him and placed him in the PC with Tadeki. Three members left. Ace was frowning as Winter had a worried expression on her face. Lilly had a calm expression on her face. I ran some numbers in my head. I sighed again before nodding my head. I was going to risk it.

"You three...come here."

They approached me cautiously. I smiled. "You three are going to be the last original members of the team. I caught three replacements before I called you guys here."

The smiles returned. Ace's tail started to wag in joy, Winter barked in joy, Lillie just smiled. "All right, settle down. I was doing some training based on what challenges we might face in the future." I threw three Pokeballs in the air, after which the Ace, Winter, and Lilly gasped. First off, I caught a Staryu that I evolved into a Starmie that served to cover our huge Rock-type weakness. It knew Psychic, Scald, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam. In addition, the Starmie is a Rash nature, so it's special attacks will be much stronger. Second off, I was lucky enough to find a wild Jangmo-o that I evolved into Kommo-o. Sure, it may have a 4x weakness to Fairies, but it has fantastic stats almost all around. Its Adamant nature powered up its physical moves, but even though Clanging Scales is a special attack, it will do a lot, TRUST ME. Finally, I have Toxapex, that can back up Kommo-o's Fairy weakness. It was a defensive tank that had a Relaxed nature, that lowered its speed even more, but boosting its defense. Starmie is genderless, Kommo-o is female and Toxapex is male. The names may be kinda weird, but just work with me.

"Meet Kaya," I said, gesturing to Kommo-o, "Venom," gesturing to Toxapex, "and Star." Starmie's nickname doesn't have much imagination, I know, but it's a work in progress. Star jumped and cried, despite not having a mouth. Venom waved and Kaya winked and smiled at Ace, resulting in a frown from Winter.

"I'll let you guys get acquainted over dinner, which is in a few minutes, so let me make your plates. I'll be back."

* * *

"It's nice to meet all of you," Kaya said, "I hope we can become good friends!"

"I second that," Venom said. "You all look like you're not forces to be tampered with."

"..." Star said. Ace walked up to Kaya. "You have an Adamant nature. It's nice to meet someone else with a nature like that."

Kaya looked at him in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"You're fists are constantly clenched. That's what lets a Pokemon know that they have a nature that increases attack. If you were Hardy or Lonely, you'd be a bit isolated. If you were Naughty, you'd constantly be causing trouble for all of us. If you were Brave, you'd probably want to fight every Pokemon that is stronger than you. That leaves Adamant; from what I see so far, you're a really nice person, and humble too."

Kaya blushed heavily and smiled. Winter walked up to her and feigned a genuine smile.

"Hi...I'm Winter. You'd be a very strong addition to the team. Kommo-o usually are."

Kaya looked at Ace. "Is this your girlfriend?"

They both blushed. "No," Ace said, while blushing madly, "We're just good friends."

Kaya looked at Winter and smiled slyly. "Uh huh..."

Meanwhile, Venom was becoming acquainted with Lillie. "Despite you having a clear advantage over me in battle, I believe that defense should definitely be taken into priority when battling."

"I agree, but as you could probably guess, I'm not a very defensive Pokemon..."

"Correct, but you have speed...you can attack first. But one thing attack and defense have in common is strategy. You have to know what your moves can do and think about how you can alter it to maximize the damage given. Likewise, you have to know what moves allow you to take more hits and minimize the damage taken."

As the team conversed with each other, Sun brought them their dinner and groomed each of them.

* * *

Kaya walked up to Winter. "Hey."

Winter looked at her with a serious face. "Hey."

"Despite what you may think, I'm not here to take Ace from you."

Winter looked at her with shock. "What?"

A sly smile grew on Kaya's face. "Don't act dumb. I know you like Ace. I'm not stealing him from you. I just want to get that out of the way now."

A smile slowly grew on Winter's face. "Thank you."

The two were then returned into their Pokeballs.

* * *

 **AnAwesomeName: I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas season! See you next time!**


	10. Chapter 9

**AnAwesomeName: One more day before Christmas, kids, hang in there!**

* * *

Ok, after we cleared up the situation of team members, I went straight toward Hokulani Observatory. On my way there, I took the opportunity to do some training for moves and leveling up. For starters, I taught Ace Crunch, Extreme Speed, and Wild Charge to gain Water-type coverage. Winter got a boost as I taught her Ice Beam, Psyshock, and Hail, and Calm Mind. I taught Lilly Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Morning Sun, and Shadow Ball. Kaya was taught Clanging Scales, Earthquake, Swords Dance, and Flash Cannon, which would cover its HUGE weakness to Fairy-types. I didn't really change Venom's moveset; he knew Baneful Bunker and Poison Jab, but I taught it Scald and Payback. Finally, Star-oh wait, I didn't change Star's moveset.

Anyway, I was about to use the Ride feature to summon a Charizard that would take me to Ula' Ula Island, until, guess who?

"Hey, Sun!"

Leaf ran up to me again, this time in different apparel. She was now wearing a light blue sleeveless shirt with a hot pink skirt. Her hair was dyed brown.

"You look stunning," I complimented while switching around the members of my team. Leaf blushed and scratched the back of her head.

"Well, thank you! This is my Kanto outfit; I used it as I traveled around that region."

"How was Kiawe's trial?"

"Easy! My Brionne made quick work of it. Also..." she looked at me nervously while chuckling, "It turns out the Eevee I caught was a boy. I decided to evolve it into an Umbreon on that account."

I smiled. "Have you passed Mallow's trial?"

She smiled proudly. "Yep! It was, again, easy!"

I rolled my eyes before a determined look spread across my face. "Well, then, let me see how strong you are before you move on!"

She turned pale; she now looked like she was seething with rage. I presented my first Pokemon. "GO, KAYA!"

Kaya brushed her locks away from her face before getting into her fighting position. Leaf took out her first Pokeball.

"Well, in that case...GO, KLEFKI!"

Leaf's eye was twitching rapidly. "Are you okay?" No response.

"Ok, then. Kaya, Earthquake!"

"Klefki, Thunder Wave!"

Due to Prankster, Thunder Wave landed first; Kaya was now slower. But the Earthquake hit nonetheless. Klefki hung on, however.

"KLEFKI, PLAY ROUGH!"

"TAKE IT, KAYA, YOU CAN DO IT!"

The Play Rough almost completely obliterated Kaya; she was brought to her knees, but not out.

"EARTHQUAKE!"

The Earthquake landed again, and Klefki was knocked out. "Klefki, return! Go, Umbreon!"

The smaller Pokemon growled at Kaya, who scoffed at its attempt to Intimidate. I grinned. "Kaya, you were fantastic; I'm proud of you."

Kaya smiled at me before I returned her. "Go, Lilly!"

When Lilly landed on the battlefield, I swear, it was like she and Umbreon were mortal enemies. They both growled at each other. Leaf smiled. "Dark beats Psychic! Umbreon, Dark Pulse!"

A dark beam aimed straight towards Lilly, who dodged it without a word from me. "Dazzling Gleam, twice in a row!"

Lilly used her speed and rushed right up to Umbreon, who stood confused at how quick she was, and let loose a powerful Dazzling Gleam, sending him flying. THEN, she ran to where he was going to land and delivered another one. Umbreon was out.

"UMBREON, RETURN," Leaf said through clenched teeth, "GO, BRIONNE!"

"Well done, Lilly," I said, returning her, "Go, Venom!"

Venom shuffled into position facing Popplio's evolved form that looked like it was ready to kill someone. "Brionne, Aqua Tail!"

I almost chuckled. "Baneful Bunker."

Aqua Tail hit Venom dead on, but due to Baneful Bunker, not only did he take no damage, but he also poisoned Brionne in the process. Leaf's purple eyes were shining in determination.

"Brionne, Hydro Pump!"

"Poison Jab."

Since Venom was part Water, Hydro Pump did virtually nothing. Poison Jab, WITH the fact that Brionne was poisoned, however, knocked out Brionne. Leaf clenched her teeth together.

"I have one more Pokemon left...my partner who's been with me ever since I went to Professor Oak's lab...GO, VENUSAUR!"

Now, THIS was a surprise; I hated to disappoint, but Leaf was about to get disappointed. I returned Venom, and brought out Ace.

"VENUSAUR, LEECH SEED!"

"Flamethrower!"

The Fire attack disintegrated the Leech Seed attack, and also scored a hit on Venusaur. However, it was still standing. Leaf was going crazy; she was experiencing pure rage.

"VENUSAUR, USE SLUDGE BOMB!"

Miss.

"Flamethrower."

Crit. Venusaur fell. The second Leaf returned Venusaur, she-I kid you not-walked up to me and attempted to slap me. But, her attempt was unsuccessful as I caught it. Even Ace growled at her.

"Leaf...what's wrong with you?"

I lifted up her lowered chin, and saw that her eyes were brimming with tears. "That entire battle..."

I let go of her hand. "What about it?"

"The way you casually commanded your Pokemon...it reminded me so much of him...it just makes me so angry..."

I embraced her. Sure, I didn't know what was going on in her head, but she needed a friend right now. She sobbed in my chest as she returned the hug.

"Now," I said, "Wipe up your tears. We can talk about this on Ula' Ula Island, since that's where we're both headed. I've heard they have a tea shop there."

She wiped her face and nodded as I called Charizard and we flew to the island.

* * *

 **Merry Christmas!**


	11. Chapter 11

**THE HIATUS HAS ENDED!**

* * *

Leaf and I walked across the golden bridge next Malie City's plaza and grabbed seats at the counter of the tea shop. We each ordered a Roserade Tea, and I was prepared to listen.

"OK, Leaf," I started, "Now, you keep telling me about 'him'. The only thing I know about him is that you knew him in Kanto. So, who is he?"

She kept stirring her tea and looked at it glumly. Nothing left her mouth.

"Leaf, talk to me. I'm not going to keep battling you if you keep having a psychotic breakdown every time the battle starts."

Now she looked at me with a confused look. "Psychotic?"

"Yes, psychotic. Your eyes shine and you clench your teeth. Your eyes twitch and you ball up your fists tightly."

She looked away, embarrassed. "Okay." Now we were getting somewhere. She took a sip of her tea and looked at me.

"It all started on my 11th birthday. I went to Professor Oak's lab the second I stepped out of the house. I wanted Charmander, but someone had already taken it. Squirtle was my backup choice, but that was taken already too," She held up Venusaur's PokeBall. "I was left with Bulbasaur. I didn't hesitate to train it. But as I went to explore the route West of Viridian City, he showed up."

I stayed silent.

"Blue Oak."

My eyes widened. "THE Blue Oak? Red's longtime rival?"

She nodded sadly. "The one and only. He was training his Wartortle and Pidgeotto until he caught sight of me. He introduced himself to me, saying how he wants to be "the very best like no one ever was" and all that, you know how it goes."

I feel like I've heard that line before; nonetheless, I continued listening to Leaf's story.

"Next thing you know, he asked me if I was going to the Pokemon League, to which I responded, 'Yes'. Then he..." Tears formed in her eyes.

"He what?"

"He said, 'I bet you don't even have one badge!' Then he laughed in my face. Even though I was 11, I didn't let anyone intimidate me, so I called him out on that statement. He didn't hesitate to wipe the floor with my Pokemon. When the battle was over, he continued to laugh at my Pokemon as he flew off to Celadon City."

After hearing that, I started to get a little upset too. But Leaf wasn't done. "After that, I trained like there was no tomorrow. I caught more Pokemon and studied their strengths and weaknesses and built a team based on that. Then, one day I encountered him in Saffron City in front of the Silph Co. building. He recognized me immediately and wanted to see how strong I've gotten since we've last met. His team had grown like mine; he had a Blastoise, a Gyarados, an Alakazam, and a Pidgeot. I was eager to show him how much I've learned. And yet...I still lost!"

Tears were streaming down her face now; she was in hysterics.

"I beat the last two gyms shortly after that and destroyed the Elite Four easily."

My eyes widened again. "No way..."

"There was no one in the champion's room, so I took the seat as the first champion of Kanto. My first challenger was Blue."

I stood up and approached her.

"That laugh...that smug laugh! I HATE IT! He walked in wearing all smiles and simply said, 'Let's get this over with'. The battle was close. It was down to my Venusaur and his Blastoise. I thought it would be an easy win, and suddenly...it was over. He had used Ice Beam."

I was confused. "Doesn't Venusaur have Thick Fat?"

She nodded. "I don't know how, but Venusaur fainted to it. Anyway, the second my beloved Pokemon had fallen, his cackle bounced off of all four walls. He walked past me and sat down in my seat. He pointed me out, saying, 'Come back when you think you'll actually give me a challenge'. Then, I heard of Alola, and here I am."

I hugged her; that actually did sound harsh. I could see why she acts like this now.

"Thanks for listening, Sun," she said, wiping her tears, "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I just wish I could give him a piece of my mind."

She blushed. "That's sweet of you, but the past is the past. In the meantime, I've gotta get to Mount Hokulani. The Electric trial is up there."

"I'll go with you if you want." I offered.

"No thanks, I've got it."

She paid for her tea and ran to the bus stop while waving back at me wearing her goofy smile.

* * *

 **Thank you all for your patience. I hope you're enjoying the story!**


	12. Chapter 12

**...**

I walked along the twisting hill that was Mount Hokulani, the path that led to the Hokulani Observatory. Ace was by my side; I looked at him and saw that he seemed to be in a good mood. To be more specific, he was grinning from ear to ear. I chuckled. "Wow, you're really cheery today. What happened?" He stopped and looked at me with his fluffy tail wagging quickly and his smile still going strong. I walked up to him; he had a dreamy look in his eyes. It was at that point that I knew exactly what happened; it was too obvious. "You're thinking about Winter, aren't you," I asked with a knowing smile and my arms crossed. He barked at me, answering my question. I ran my fingers through his cream-colored mane. "Aww...you're in love. That's cool, but we really need to focus on this trial. Can you do that for me?" The second I answered my question, he growled. I looked at him once more to see that his smile had disappeared and was replaced with a look of determination. I have to admit; my team knows the time and place for their feelings really well.

After about an hour, and a lot of fainted Pokemon, we finally made it to the top. Hokulani Observatory was north from the Pokemon Center; right in front of it was a bus with a large cutout of the heads of an Exeggutor on it. I stepped into the Pokemon Center and healed everyone before having a team meeting on the battlefield behind the building. I released everyone from their PokeBalls (minus Ace) and sat down on the bench. Kaya and Winter stretched their arms and legs; Ace was enjoying every second of it since he was practically drooling at the sight. Despite the fact that Venom and Star had just joined the team, Lille was already fast friends with both of them as they greeted each other with a smile.

"All right, guys, listen up!" Immediately, everyone went silent and all eyes were on me. "You see that blue building just North from here?" I pointed to the observatory. "That's the trial site. It's an Electric-type trial, so Star and Venom, don't expect to battle much if at all." Venom nodded and Star jumped; it was an enthusiastic Water-type, I'll give it that. "That leaves Kaya, Ace, Lillie, and Winter. Now, I did some research on what Pokemon to expect from the captain, and here's what I got. I found out that he uses Togedamaru and Pokemon from the Grubbin line, which means Charjabug and Vikavolt are likely to show up during the trial. Togedamaru is Steel-Electric, so Ace and Kaya, that's where you guys would shine. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to you, Winter; you're very likely to be knocked out by any Steel move it uses if it has one." The three Pokemon nodded. "However, its abilities are Sturdy and Iron Barbs, so some special attacks would come in handy here. And fortunately for you two, you guys are fantastic special attackers. Now, onto the Charjabug and Vikavolt. Lillie, you won't be going in at that point since there's the possibility that they'll have bug type moves." Lillie nodded sadly and her ears drooped. "Don't worry Lillie, you'll be in battles soon enough. There's always the next trial. Anyway, even though it's a Bug-type, it's extremely slow, so we should be able to go first almost all the time and rack up damage. Finally, there's Vikavolt. Same as Charjabug, Bug-Electric, but it has Levitate as it's ability. In addition, it's special attack is extremely high. But, like Charjabug, it's speed isn't the best. So, Kaya, you still have the option to battle, but you can't use Earthquake. Got it?" Kaya nodded and crossed her arms. "And as for you Ace, you can serve as either the backup or the lead in this situation since you can beat both Charjabug and Vikavolt with your Fire-type attacks." Ace growled in understanding. "Other than those, we have this trial in the bag. Now, let's get you guys cleaned up before we go."

I groomed each of my Pokemon in pairs, Star and Venom first, Kaya and Lillie second, Ace and Winter last. But there was a reason I put Ace and Winter last; I'm just want to see how they interact with each other in person. I released Lillie and Ace from their PokeBalls and the second they saw each other, a smile grew on both of their faces. "All right, lay down, both of you." I brushed Ace's mane softly, bringing out growls of satisfaction from him. To be honest, this is the most relaxed I've seen him; he's actually been battling really hard in every single battle we've been in, whether it's a wild Pokemon or a trainer. I felt his back as I brushed his head and it actually felt really rough which resulted in a frown from me. Simultaneously, Winter was looking at me curiously. Now, I'm no Nurse Joy, but I'm pretty sure that that's not supposed to be like that. "Ace?" I stopped brushing as he turned to face me. He looked at me and I was greeted with a tired smile. Furthermore, I could hear his breathing a little. "Are you all right?" He frowned and started to whimper a little. Then, I got it. "Have I been pushing you too hard?" He shook his head and looked away as Winter approached him and said something to him, probably the same question. No reaction. I felt his back again, making him wince. "I'm sorry, Ace. I'm not trying to push you past your limits." Winter knelt down next to him as I continued. "Ah, and with our trial tomorrow, you're probably really stressed." At that point, Ace looked at me and blushed, but I don't know why. Winter looked deep in thought. "All right, we'll push our trial to the day after tomorrow so you can relax. I'll need you to focus during the trial." Ace nodded as I finished brushing his fur. I started to brush Winter as Ace watched. Now, I'm not lying when I say that her fur was not only cool, but really soft. It felt even softer than a Whimsicott's fluff or a Jumpluff's puffs. As I brushed, she sighed in satisfaction, making Ace's tail wag a little. I stopped when I got to her tails since it's said that you could be cursed if you grab any of a Ninetales' tails. However, she seemed okay with the parts of her coat that I did brush, so she got up and the three of us walked inside of the Pokemon Center. By now, nightfall was upon us. I could still hear a flock of Fearow flying above the Pokemon Center; I saw some Clefairy following a shiny Clefable down Mount Hokulani, as well as a Banette waddling across the battlefield. It was really quiet, and I loved it. Don't get me wrong, I love Pokemon battles, but sometimes I could use a break from yelling moves and hearing other trainers yell moves.

Anyway, I walked inside of the Pokemon Center and reserved a room. "All right, guys, return." However, both of them dodged their PokeBall beams. I rolled my eyes. "All right, you guys can stay outside of your PokeBalls for tonight," I ordered a Pokemon room. Believe it or not, they made rooms for Pokemon that wanted to sleep outside of their PokeBalls. As I waited for the room keys, I looked at the two of them. Winter was whispering something softly inside Ace's ear, making Ace blush heavily and Winter giggle.

* * *

Winter walked up to Ace as Sun got the room keys. "Hey."

"Hey," Ace acknowledged with a tired voice.

"Don't think you're fooling anybody," Winter said, her ice-blue eyes shining.

"About what?"Ace was looking at her with a confused expression.

"I noticed you looking at me and Kaya earlier as we stretched..." she said. Ace's eyes widened. "I think you enjoyed it...didn't you?" Ace said nothing. Winter went up to his ear and started to whisper softly. "It makes me wonder what exactly you were thinking at that moment..." Ace blushed heavily. Winter giggled. "Don't worry, we can discuss it before we go to sleep." Ace looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Guys, I have the keys! Let's go." Sun called. Before following him up the stairs, Winter went back up to Ace's ear. "Oh, and one more thing: I think I have a little...remedy for your stress." Ace looked at her with a serious smile. "Do you, now? Why don't you tell me what it is?" Winter returned his smile. "Why tell you when I can show you?" She started following Sun up the stairs. "Winter?" Ace asked as he, Sun, and Winter approached their room. Sun unlocked the door to their room before going into his. "G'night, guys!"

"Winter!" Ace said once more, until his eyes widened. He knew exactly what Winter had in mind. A smile grew across his face as Winter walked into the room before turning at him with a devious smile spread across her face. He followed her into the room and locked the door behind him.

* * *

 **Thanks again for your patience; I tried to add as much detail as I could in this chapter. I don't know when the next chapter will be, but be on the lookout! -AnAwesomeName**


	13. Chapter 13

**...**

I woke up to find a Pikipek on my windowsill, being fed by a Toucannon; not exactly the most pleasurable sight to see, considering that the larger bird was shoving slimy Wurmple guts down a tiny bird's throat. I got out of bed and prepared myself for the day. As promised, I was giving my team a day off, especially Ace since he had gotten extremely stressed as the number of battles we were in increased. Speaking of Ace, I needed to tell him and Winter to stop making so much noise. I had almost failed to fall asleep because I kept hearing thumping and growling from the other room. It's probably an Arcanine-Ninetales thing, so I won't think much of it. Before I walked to their room, I walked out the back door of my room and leaned on the railing (not the part where Pikipek was fed, mind you). To be honest, even though the sun shining almost 24/7 pretty much negates any chance of snow falling in Alola, it really made some beautiful scenery. I overlooked Mount Hokulani in all it's glory as the nighttime Pokemon went to sleep and daytime Pokemon awoke. I saw a Ditto transform into an Beldum and blend in with a group of them. Clefairy skipped across the pathway and fell asleep in the tall, wavy grass. I saw the Exeggutor bus come back up the path and stop in front of the observatory. I smiled; Alola truly was beautiful.

I walked across the hall and opened the door to Ace and Winter's room; they were sleeping soundly, side by side, each with a big grin on their faces. In an effort to not disturb them on their day off, I left their breakfast in their room and went downstairs to eat mine. I had settled with Buttermilk Pancakes with lowfat Miltank Milk with Oran Berries on the side; I took my seat, and started to eat. As I savored the sweet taste of Oran Berries on my pancakes, I started to think of Leaf. I truly was sorry for her; if I had been fueled by proving someone wrong over the course of my life, I would've gone insane. I couldn't imagine having an intense bloodlust such as the one Leaf had for Blue. But hey, I'm glad I could still cheer her up that day. Just then, Winter and Ace came down, both wearing grins. I stopped eating and knelt down to them. "Hey, you two! I hope you guys had a good night's sleep!" They both barked in affirmation, making me smile. "Good. Remember, you both and the team have the day off, so choose to do what you want with it. Just don't get into trouble." At that, Ace and Winter ran outside and began to walk down the hill in front of the small plaza on Mount Hokulani's summit. "Make sure you two are back before nightfall!" Just to make sure, I let out Kaya. "Make sure those two are safe, okay?" She nodded and began to follow the two. I finished eating and then went back to my room. After plopping on the neatly made bed, I turned on the TV to find a Pokemon battle between the champion of Kalos, Sinnoh, and Unova, Ash Ketchum, battling Gold, the champion of Johto. Up next was a performance by his girlfriend, Serena, who happened to be the Champion of the Ferrum region and Kalos Queen. I heard she had a Shadow Mewtwo in her possession.

* * *

Kaya, Winter, and Ace were all back inside the Pokemon Center. Their walk was a short one; Winter told Kaya every single detail of what had happened the other night, making the latter chuckle and Ace turn as red as a tomato. On the way, they got to know the native Pokemon. Through their travels, they had found that Chansey and Ditto were extremely rare and could be found any time, the former only at night. When they found a Ditto, it happily gave more details on this occurrence, as he was friends with a Chansey. Apparently, the reason Chansey are rarely seen is because they're really shy. Plus, they're not the slowest runners either. Anyway, the three Pokemon were currently in the spa. Ace currently had his eyes closed as he sat next to the hot-tub made specially for Fire-types; Kaya was in it. Meanwhile, Winter was sitting across from both of them, eating a Vanilla Bearticone in a bowl. Kaya sighed in relaxation as she let the hot water go under the scales on her back. Winter purred in delight at her frozen treat and Ace stayed silent. The rest of the PokeSpa was filled with a jungle gym for Pokemon to work out in, a bar for Pokemon food run by a Slowbro, and a separate room for Pokemon to simply sit in silence. Winter looked at Ace. "Ace, if you want to sleep, why not just go into the Silence Room?" She gestured to the room; it was currently occupied by a Lucario, a Weavile, and a Glaceon. The golden Arcanine looked back at her. "I feel that you two are my responsibility; I want to be out here to make sure nothing happens to you two." Winter smiled. "That's sweet of you, Ace. It really is." With that, Winter went back to eating her Bearticone. Kaya dried off and sat next to Winter and closed her eyes as well. "That statement is ironic, considering the fact that I was told to make sure you both were all right when you guys left on your walk." Ace rolled his eyes with a smile. At that moment, the spa door opened, and an Incineroar and Houndoom walked in. Much to the disappointment of Winter, both of them were female, resulting in a frown from the Ice-Fairy type. The Incineroar's hair was in a ponytail; plus, her figure was slimmer than the muscular appearance of her male counterparts. Half of her chest was black, the other half red, while her hips were black down to her thighs. Her eyes were still emerald-green. The Houndoom's eyelashes were longer, but other than that, it was just a normal Houndoom. Ace watched as the two Pokemon walked into the hot tub. "Ace." Winter said. "ACE." Now, she was annoyed. Kaya was up now, and had just learned of the situation. "Huh? What's up, Winter?" Winter walked up to him. "Are you enjoying your piece of eye candy?" Ace blushed. "What eye candy?" A mischievous smile grew on Winter's face as she faced him. "You know exactly what-"

"Excuse me." The Houndoom and Incineroar faced him. A smile grew on the Incineroar's face. "I could use a workout. Do you think you and I can battle?" The Houndoom frowned. "I wanted to battle him! Fire dog vs. Hellhound," she jumped out of the pool. "I'm curious as to who'd win; you look like a strong opponent." Winter giggled. "Pardon my friend," the Incineroar said, "She's been itching for a battle ever since we got here." Now, she got out of the pool. "I'm Red, and you've already met Desire." A devilish smile was on the Houndoom's face as she licked her maw. "He looks very delicious..." she pawed his arms and his back. "And his muscles are so hard. So, what'll it be? Are we battling or what?" Kaya's, Red's, Winter's and Desire's eyes were now on him. He nodded his head and headed to the battlefield.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**...**

I was in the middle of watching Serena's performance; she was currently performing with a Sylveon, Milotic, and Shadow Mewtwo. It's strange though; for a split second, I thought the latter was a human. It was probably my eyes playing tricks on me. Anyway, to keep myself from getting bored too quickly, I researched some strategies used by current and previous champions in order to see what I can apply to my team. And then...

"Pardon me."

I looked up. I was greeted by a cute girl with pink hair that was in a ponytail. She was wearing pink glasses, had a black top, and had checkered diamond leggings on. She had a necklace around her neck with a circular stone inside of it; I'm guessing a Key Stone. "Yes?"

"Do you know where Kiawe's trial is? I'm thirsty for a Fire-type battle, Alolan Style!"

"I'm not surprised." I wasn't stupid either. This was none other than Malva, Fire-type Elite Four member of the Kalos region. She went missing after the Flare Scandal of 2013; some say she had close ties with the boss of the entire operation. Malva chuckled. "If you want to go to Kiawe's trial, you need to go to the top of Wela Volcano." I showed her a map and pointed to the aforementioned spot. "Just follow the path until you reach the Totem poles."

"Thank you. I'm-"

"Malva, I know. A skilled battler who also knows the ways of Mega-Evolution." She looked impressed as I said this. Again, I'm not stupid. "I have a reliable Fire-type of my own. It can't Mega-evolve, though." Malva smiled. "So? Just because a Pokemon can't mega-evolve doesn't mean it doesn't have potential. Let's battle sometime." I nodded with a small smile. "If you want," she continued, "You can come see my Pokemon. They're in the spa at the moment." I followed her inside of the spa and looked around; it was HUGE. I was actually starting to get a little jealous of Pokemon; they had it good. Malva looked around, frowning. "I could've sworn I had left Red and Desire in here..." Then, we heard a huge explosion. The air suddenly started to get a little warmer.

"The battlefield!" We said simultaneously. We ran outside of the spa and onto the battlefield and were shocked at what we saw. Kaya, Winter, and an Incineroar were on the sidelines. On the battlefield was a Houndoom and Ace, both heavily damaged. "Ace!" Malva shushed me with a grin. "Hold on. Let's see how the battle plays out."

* * *

Ace and Desire were panting heavily, both glaring daggers at each other. Both sides' paws were sharpened. Desire smiled. "You're strong...I never would've thought that you would've lasted this long. Most of my battles are less than a minute." Ace returned the smile. "Thank you! I have a good trainer." Desire's smile disappeared. "However, I'm not losing. Let's finish this." She lunged at him with her fangs bared to Crunch him. However, Ace ducked just in time and spun around to find her already coming at him with blinding speed with another Crunch. Ace's smile widened. He met her head on with a Close Combat attack, and on the last hit, sent her flying to the other side of the battlefield. Desire fainted. Kaya, Winter, and Red gasped.

"This is her second loss..." Red said. Kaya looked at her.

"What?"

"Desire has only lost once, to the former Kalos champion."

"Wow..." Winter said, "Was she holding back this battle?"

"Nope. On our way to the Pokemon Center, she was going on and on about how she just wanted to battle someone, anyone with her full power, no matter how weak, or strong they were and no matter how quick the battle was."

Ace walked over to Desire; she was still unconscious. He lifted her up and put her on his back before walking over to the side of the battlefield, where his trainer, Red, Winter, and Kaya were waiting for him. Sun knelt down and pet him. "That looked like an intense battle," he said, "Are you all right?" Ace nodded as Malva examined her Pokemon. Red walked over.

"I thought you two were in the spa, but it looks like you were busy making new friends..." Red growled softly, indicating that they were. Ace and Sun walked over to Kaya and Winter. "You surprised me..." Kaya said, "Houndoom are known for their brute strength, and you held your own against one going all out." Winter nuzzled Ace's chin and looked into his eyes, hers full of admiration. "You're amazing, you know that?" She asked. "For the third time, yes. I do." He answered. Meanwhile, Red followed her trainer and Desire inside the spa. "We're going back inside the spa. Also, Desire said she wanted to talk to you. Alone." she said as she went inside. Ace had a straight face as she finished her sentence. Sun pet Ace's fur as he went back inside as well.

* * *

 **#Cliffhanger**

 **#ThanksForReading**


End file.
